12 days of IPA: The One From Suffolk That I Wasn't Expecting
So far I've tried several US-brewed 'English-style' IPAs. Translation: caramel, earthy. Tonight the hop's on the other foot; UK-brewed 'American Style'. Translation: amber, C-hopped.
To be fair, the aroma doesn't go fruit-bowl-spilt-on-a-mown-lawn mad. There's no relentless bitterness stamped onto your palate. It's a beer that wears its 6.8% ABV lightly; a fragrant pashmina rather than an oily shroud.
It's lucid and juicy. You can actually taste enough toffee and biscuit to remind you that IPA does actually have malty goodness in it. American-style? Well, sort of. American hopped, certainly. But this is fuller-bodied, rounded, better-balanced affair. A re-imagining of a re-invention of IPA.
The beer? Adnams American-Style IPA. No longer available in bottle, I believe, though a cask version brewed at 4.8% is doing the rounds. And let's be clear - this is an IPA. Ratebeer may call it an American Pale. Ratebeer are guilty of ever-increasing hubris. Two people can have an opinion as to the style of a beer; between a website admin and the brewer, I'll always side with the latter. The brewer may get it wrong on occasion (not the case here. IMO) but I'll fight for their right as the guys and gals that brewed the damn thing to make that style choice.
Today's Obviously Made Up Fact About IPA:
At the height of the IPA trade, Burton’s coopers made enough barrels in one year to stretch from Shobnall to Calcutta nearly three-and-a-half times over.
Many thanks to Fergus at Adnams for the bottle
To be fair, the aroma doesn't go fruit-bowl-spilt-on-a-mown-lawn mad. There's no relentless bitterness stamped onto your palate. It's a beer that wears its 6.8% ABV lightly; a fragrant pashmina rather than an oily shroud.
It's lucid and juicy. You can actually taste enough toffee and biscuit to remind you that IPA does actually have malty goodness in it. American-style? Well, sort of. American hopped, certainly. But this is fuller-bodied, rounded, better-balanced affair. A re-imagining of a re-invention of IPA.
The beer? Adnams American-Style IPA. No longer available in bottle, I believe, though a cask version brewed at 4.8% is doing the rounds. And let's be clear - this is an IPA. Ratebeer may call it an American Pale. Ratebeer are guilty of ever-increasing hubris. Two people can have an opinion as to the style of a beer; between a website admin and the brewer, I'll always side with the latter. The brewer may get it wrong on occasion (not the case here. IMO) but I'll fight for their right as the guys and gals that brewed the damn thing to make that style choice.
Today's Obviously Made Up Fact About IPA:
At the height of the IPA trade, Burton’s coopers made enough barrels in one year to stretch from Shobnall to Calcutta nearly three-and-a-half times over.
Many thanks to Fergus at Adnams for the bottle
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRemoved the above comment as I was a bit confused to which beer I was talking about. The 'innovation' I thought was a US style IPA the 'US Style IPA' I thought was a touch too soft and rounded...
ReplyDeleteAFAIK the American IPA its still available in bottles, its part of their world beer range, last year they were just monthly seasonal casks, in the autumn Adnams started bottling them, and have then repeated the cask versions but I think bi-monthly instead alongside the bottles.
ReplyDeletethe cask version is better than the bottle imo, theres a stronger citrus/floral hopness to it, though certainly last year the cask version could be hit and miss as well (sadly)
but like RateBeer Id have to say its an american pale ale, not an american ipa, if thats not splitting hairs, hops or even hubris too much :)